1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data processing systems, and more particularly, to a data processing system that connects a data driven type information processor with an existing system formed including a yon Neumann type information processor to carry out data transfer therebetween.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a conventional von Neumann type information processor, various instructions are prestored in a program memory as a program. Instructions are sequentially read out by specifying sequentially an address of the program memory with a program counter to execute the read out instruction.
A data driven type information processor is a type of a non-yon Neumann type information processor that does not employ the concept of executing sequential instructions with a program counter. Such a data driven type information processor employs an architecture based on parallel processing of instructions. In a data driven type information processor, execution of an instruction is allowed as soon as data to be calculated is provided, so that a plurality of instructions are driven simultaneously by data. Therefore, a data flow program is executed in parallel according to the natural flow of data. As a result, it is regarded that the time required for operation is reduced significantly.
FIG. 9 shows a structure of a conventional data processing system including a data driven type information processor and a von Neumann type information processor.
A data driven type information processor (referred to as "data driven type processor" hereinafter) 26 shown in FIG. 9 is used connected to a dedicated input/output unit 27. Input/output unit 27 is provided to supply to data driven type processor 26 external data packets for loading a data flow program to data driven type processor 26 and executing a loaded data flow program. When such a data driven type processor 26 used with a dedicated input/output unit 27 is to be connected to a von Neumann type information processor (referred to as "von Neumann type processor" hereinafter) 28 which is an existing system, von Neumann type processor 28 is connected to input/output unit 27 to carry out serial transfer on-line between von Neumann type processor 28 and data driven type processor 26 via input/output unit 27. This means that there was only one port connecting data driven type processor 26 and von Neumann type processor 28. Therefore, a plurality of different types of data transfer could not be carried out simultaneously.
Because there was only one port connecting data driven type processor 26 and von Neumann type processor 28 in a conventional data processing system as shown in FIG. 9, the reliability of the operation of data driven type processor 26 was confirmed as set forth in the following. First, an instruction code to carry out a predetermined process is applied to data driven type processor 26 from von Neumann type processor 28 via input/output unit 27. A predetermined process according to that instruction code is carried out in processor 26. After completion of this process, an instruction code for confirming this operation of the predetermined process is applied from von Neumann type processor 28 to data driven type processor 26 via input/output unit 27, whereby a process is carried out in processor 26 according to the instruction code. By analyzing the process resultant data using processor 28, the reliability of the operation of data driven type processor 26 was confirmed. Although this method allows confirmation of the reliability of the operation result of a predetermined process of data driven type processor 26, the operation status of a predetermined process (status during program execution) could not be confirmed in real-time. To confirm the reliability of the operation of a data driven type processor 26, information obtained by monitoring in real-time the operation status (status during program execution) is indispensable to debug a data flow program and to analyze the operation of the processor itself. A conventional data processing system had a disadvantage that reliability of operation of the system or data driven type processor 26 could not be monitored in real-time while carrying out operation thereof. This also induced the problem of making difficult the operation analysis of the system formed including data driven type processor 26 or processor 28.